Pages

.

Monday, 30 April 2012

Hopefully you've recorded your measurements, even if you haven't shared them here yet... *HINT*.

Could you please, also, take your waist and hip measurements? Also please take a look at the previous post to confirm your name's on the list.

-----------------------------FEEDBACK ON FOOD DIARIES SHARED IN THE PREVIOUS POSTThank you for being honest and posting both good and bad! That gives us more to work with :)Breakfast:

Try to avoid the breakfast cereals along the lines of Crunchy Nut, Frosties, etc. As I told someone today, you might as well have a glass of water with a few spoons of sugar. And usually with these, you find that you have to eat more to get that full feeling. If you must have cereal in the morning, have half a cup of porridge oats with milk and a handful of nuts or berries. Other options include: 2 x Weetabix, 1 cup of Shreddies.

No pastries or bakery products eg brioche, doughnuts, cakes.

Don't have time to sit down and eat breakfast? - Eat something even if it's a piece of chicken or meat.- If you have access to health food stores, buy protein snack bars eg 'Trek', '9', 'Bounce Balls', 'Nak'd', 'Cliff', 'Lara Bar'. -Boil eggs the night before and have one or 2.

The last 2-3 weeks have been a bit odd for me - I was ill, I travelled, I was ill and now I'm WELL :) So I've decided to take part in this challenge with you too.

And before anyone says anything, I know I'm not overweight, we all know our bodies and when we need to get back on track :)

What's my plan of action?

I'm cutting out chocolate for the entire month of May. Although I only eat 70% (or more) chocolate, I usually finish a big bar over 2 days(weekend, when I do have it).

I'll have 2 strength based sessions per week: - Fitter London's Kettlebells for Strength and Bodyweight Conditioning on Tuesdays @ 7am and - Fitter London's Kettlebells for Strength, Size and a Sixpack on Saturdays @ 11.30am. (All Fitter London classes can be found here: www.fitterlondon.co.uk/classes/)You should know how passionate I am about strength training so please read this post: I Love Strength Training.

I teach 3 spin classes a week so those will be my cardio/endurance workouts.

I'm cutting out plantain chips for the entire month of May. Trust me, they're a real weakness of mine. Especially when I'm in a hurry, I just grab a pack and inhale it in 2 minutes flat!

As always, I'm going to eat a lot of protein (More of fish, seafood. And chicken, eggs too) and vegetables. I'm also limiting mhy carbohydrates to sweet potatoes, beans and plantain. I'm not a fan of brown rice, I'd have added that to the list.

No ice-cream, absolutely NO ice-cream. This is a major weakness of mine.

Okay enough about me ;)

Set your goals for May (tomorrow's the 1st).

Exercise: I'll post some workouts for home and gym workouts. Aim for at least 2 days per week.

Diet: My advice would be to cut out all pastries, cakes, pizzas, deep fried foods, high-sugar foods and drinks, etc. Also reduce your carbohydrate portions and replace with vegetables (they are carbs too) and protein. It's only one month in your long life and will fly by.

Frequency of meals: Eat at least three times a day and make sure you never get to a point where you're ravenous. If you don't like breakfast, no need to force yourself to eat an actual meal. Try something as little as a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit.

Snacking: Do this only when you feel peckish, sometimes I snack for the sake of it and it's unneccessary. Snack on fruit (1 portion eg 1 apple, a handful of berries, 1 slice of pineapple, etc).

Please post your goals, it helps to write things down and share on a forum (here) because you feel more motivated to stick to these goals. I'm in Starbucks and I just had a banana with my Green Tea. I ignored the dark chocolate by the checkout, GO ME!

Sidenote: After going on an on on Twitter yesterday, I shared a few pointers. Which I've decided to share here because I know you don't all have Twitter accounts:

Monday, 23 April 2012

I was in the States last week and had to hold back from SCREAMING at all the weight loss infomercials on TV.

The one that stood out to me was some "weight loss belt".. I could have believed it a tiny bit as I was hoping it came with a workout/diet plan. BUT they went ahead and said users don't have to make any changes to their diet or exercise routine.

That is wrong in so many ways! These people are not only lying to some vulnerable people who will do anything to lose weight, they are also encouraging people to continue living a lifestyle which is most likely detrimental to their health!

Their message is very simple: Wanna look good? Just keep eating trans fats, excess sugar and everything bad for you, forget about exercise because you definitely don't need it. Just wear this belt and watch the pounds fall off.

IDIOTIC NONSENSE!

They claimed they used no paid actors or paid models for the testimonials. These people lost tens of pounds just by wearing this belt? LIARS. I don't even care about the stupid science behind it, they all need to be slapped, physically and with a lawsuit. In my opinion, they used non-paid actors, there's no other explanation for their lies!

Ok. Rant OVER!

Please, please no matter how many pounds you have to lose, 10? 40? 100+? Do not fall into the trap of easy and quick way to lose weight. No matter the frills or fake before and after pictures, remember that getting into shape takes dedication and it's not only about looking good (I know this is very important!) but also about being healthy, prolonging your life expectancy and feeling good :)

Don't forget to sign up for the 'Get Trimmer' challenge HERE or on YouTube <-- The right way to get in shape, of course ;)

Get a full medical before you throw yourself into an exercise or diet routine - blood tests, blood pressure, heart rate (pulse), etc. I've been guilty of leaving it until I'm ill to get this done and I want to change that. Low blood pressure, high blood pressure, irregular heart beat and a lot of conditions that can be detected through blood tests.

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

Also, I've been asked by friends, family and readers quite a few questions from nutrition to exercise during pregnancy. This has inspired this new series on my blog (Name is subject to change!).

Each post will have a tip on nutrition, exercise or anything else that might be of use to you. If you have any questions, please ask and I'll address them soon.

Disclaimer: Of course I am not a mother (yet) so my information is from research and experiences that pregnant friends, family or clients have had :)

Cravings and Changes in Appetite
Most pregnant women have odd eating habits, cravings and appetites. You might have little to no appetite, sugar cravings so you want everything 'bad' while surprisingly, some see no changes in appetite or cravings.

To deal with cravings, try to ensure you don't always have unhealthy food within your reach. Avoid supermarket aisles that carry these foods. Also, buy one or two of the things you really crave, and have them as treats. Fruit can also help satisfy some sugar cravings.You don't want to deprive yourself, neither do you want to over indulge.

To deal with having little to no appetite, try eating small meals often. Also make sure all your meals are rich in the nutrients your body needs: Protein, starchy foods (try to stay away from processed carbohydrates and eat potatoes, yam, plantain, 'amala', brown rice and similar foods) and as always, bulk up your meals with vegetables.